i will drown myself
if my feet ever become paralyzed
because without my toes grasping
the soil, i'm sure the slightest breeze
could overtake me
i have felt numb appendages before,
my grandfather kept a fence
around his garden and would
shoot any squirrels in
a starved desperation,
after which always asking
my trembling hands
to dispose of the body.
i could never wash them
and only wanted to feel the guilt
i knew i deserved
or the deer i found
spilling over the rocks of her creek,
a path of water slightly reddened
before diving off the ledge,
i mentally collapsed with the current
and let the fish be fed.
we were led there by gunshot
and its body, legs stiffly protruding
like lighting, cried out
bony-handed questions
that tore at my skin
and peeled back my eyelids
and even now, intact,
i wonder if a world
that can rest so heavily on my shoulders
is really worth the trouble to uphold
Author notes
i assume the contest wasn't meant literally, but for some reason i ended up taking this in that direction
A contest entry
- dragging a dead deer up a hill by the atlantic.
1000 points, ended September 16, 2008, 14 entries
Silver trophy winner
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
Please tell me what you think
Comments
1 - 6 of 6
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I just read three of your poems. I enjoyed every one. You have a unique talent that is fresh to read. I wonder if you would check into the contests I am currently holding. Perhaps something might tug at your muse.
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thank you
i will definitely check them out
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amazing
you don't use a lot of complicated references and bits of obscure allusions that no one can understand, and yet the imagery is beautiful and the emotions the poem arises are strong. I love it! =D
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I despise hunting
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more than anything else
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the second stanza was so gorgeous. i had hoped that you would enter
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